Faction What Lurks Beneath (Jedi)

[Coren Starchaser]

A posting had gone out. Coren Starchaser had some ideas for a mission for the newer Jedi, or the Jedi with an interest in the past. The world of Kattada was a tropical world, but it was a world that held many secrets. He and his daughter had gone and found some of them, and so had the Witches that were calling the world home. There was a power here, something that Coren could feel in the background.

A nexus? No.

More like a well-spring. He had invited any Jedi looking to come, from all across the Orders. Meeting at Kattada. And sailing from there. Coren was looking to do what he could to keep the world of Kattada as pristine, and that meant very few ships landing away from the few urban centers. And that meant they were going to be taking alternative means of travel to the island they were looking for. Not too far out, Coren had requested that the Jedi assisting with the sail bring the ship to a slow approach. They could see the island chain that was in question. Temples nearby were dotting the horizon.

“Once again, welcome to Kattada. Before you is an island chain that we’ve been monitoring. As we get closer you’ll start to feel the power around. It may not feel expressly Light to you, but I know its not dark either…” As he spoke, he could feel more on the islands this time. Other… beings? He wasn’t sure. Shaking his head, he looked to the others.

“What we are looking for, and it helps to have more eyes than less… What are these temples to, why is the focus of the Force on the world?” And silently, why did not all of the island in this area have temples. Maybe the Force needed a jumpstart.

“Some of it will seem familiar, but not all…” The ship found the make shift dock and the crew assisted them towards the shore.

“I will be with you every step of the way.” Was he hearing skittering?

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

TAGS: Coren Starchaser

Phalsi was watching as they slowly worked their way to the island. Hearing Coren begin to speak, she pulled her attention away from the view and towards her master. He informed them of the planet, and the fact that they had been watching the place with some interest. Explaining that they would begin to feel the force here, and that it was not completely light side.

Her brow scrunched a little at the news, but set that aside for another time.

The questions being asked were simple, but simple questions always seemed to have the most difficult answers to find. The ship found it's dock as Phalsi watched the workers move before slipping across the gangplank and dancing along before heading right for the beach first thing. The force was very much present here, a strange feeling about it as she hopped along and removed the shoes in a bow-legged movement.

Left boot, then right came off as her toes buried themselves into the sand.

"Have these islands been noted as having sentient life?" She asked, spinning and keeping her cloak down as she smiled back to Coren. "Temples and all, you figure someone or something built them."

 

[Aveline Cuiléin]

A mission for newer Jedi? Yes. A mission taking place on a tropical world? Hells to the yes! Aveline signed up quicker than she could read up on what any of this was all about. She could do that on the trip to Kattada.

Whatever was asked of her she would support in. It was an unorthodox method of travel, but she respected that different planets came with different cultures and traditions. And the sea looked so pretty!

"Is it safe to go swimming around here? Are any islands off limits?" Questions that perhaps weren't as urgent and not really deeply tied to their mission, but Aveline already had set her sights on how she could spend her downtime before heading back to Kashyyyk. A weekend trip to Kattada? Yes please.

Oh, and exploring the Force. Yes that too. Totally her top priority.

Master Starchaser was talking about temples. Aveline probably should've done more reading up on the history of the place, but she dared ask the question. "Master Starchaser, have the Jedi always been on Kattada? Or were they not all built by the Jedi? The temples, I mean" Just a few months ago, the very thought of casually asking a Jedi Master a potentially stupid question would've terrified her, and Coren was the Grandmaster no less! But perhaps it was the sea breeze and the sandy beaches that put her in a more relaxed mood.

Following Phalsi, Aveline too hopped off, boots in hand, and let her feet feel the sand. She closed her eyes, leaning her head backwards and allowed herself a moment of just feeling the air around her. Coren had said to be watchful about how the Force touched this world. Though her understanding and execution was basic, she reached out with the Force, trying to feel the island, the water around it and every grain of sand... Well maybe not every grain but...

Coren Starchaser | Phalsi Drynchen​

 

[Takui]

Grandmaster Starchaser spoke at length about how the island felt, and since the Padawans had made their way back from Deneba, he had been acutely aware of things like that. It was to the point that his mind reeled, and he purposely shut off the part of his brain that acknowledged it all. It wasn't that he was closed off to the Force, on the contrary, he was willfully making an effort not to process it at all.

It wasn't just the gut feelings anymore. After he had watched a man die and felt his spirit leave his body, nothing was the same. Every instinct, every feeling, every notion that Taku had got called into question. Is this something I'm feeling, or something someone else feels? Is this my own thought, or is something putting it into my head? Am I even-

His questions were interrupted by the questions from Phalsi and Aveline. They were interested in the islands, but Taku wasn't even mentally checked in. The young man did his best to pay attention and started trying to take notes mentally.

He'd decided to show Coren good faith. He wouldn't let his confusion and his dark thoughts cloud the path forward. Not when the Grandmaster was a brilliant beacon of light guiding the way.

Coren Starchaser | Phalsi Drynchen | Aveline Cuiléin​

 

[Jorah zos Darnus]

Kattada reminded him of home.

The events of Deneba still weighed heavily upon him, but some of that burden seemed lifted by the salt air and warm, humid breezes. That Master Coren Starchaser had chosen a traditional sailing ship only further excited the Dathomirian youth. The Mistwalkers had been fishermen on Talay. Thus, the young tween was eager to dive into the tasks of tending the rigging and setting sail.

The normally conservative Dathomirian had also changed into the tribal clothing he would wear on Talay as well. A broad, long piece of Dathomir spider silk was wrapped around his trunk as a sarong, covering the loincloth he wore underneath as it stretched past his knees. A simple cord loose around his torso held the ceremonial Nightsister dagger. His chest and arms were bare, further exposing the intricate series of markings that formed black lines on his red skin.

Aveline Cuiléin made mention to swimming, and the boy's head looked at Master Starchaser in earnest, anxiously awaiting the answer.

There was a female on this trip that had not been at Deneba. Jorah did not know her, though her hair reminded him some of the Arkanian known as Desbre ( Phalsi Drynchen ).

Of course, someone that the Dathomiri did recognize was Takui

While Jorah was elated at their sailing voyage, Taku seemed to be brooding. It was a habit many Nightbrothers lapsed into. Living with Nightsisters gave one quite a bit to dwell upon.

But, there were no Nightsisters here.

As the ship arrived at the makeshift dock, the young Dathomiri hopped down to help the crew with bringing the ship into port. When he had finished securing one of the lines to a bollard, the gangly Nightbrother ambled over toward Taku. This Jai was older than Jerek Zenduu and taller than Jorah by a fair margin as a result.

Clasping his hands in front of him, the horned boy bowed toward the elder padawan. As he straightened upright, he opened his hands and held them flat, as though opening a book. This was ordinarily the moment when a Mistwalker would give their traditional greeting of tashi dalek. However, Jorah decided to skip the usual exchange and, instead, speak Galactic Basic.

"Are you okay?"

Taku was his elder. Hopefully, the question would not be seen as... impertinent.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The world, to Coren Starchaser, was peaceful. Having grown up on Corellia, and then between whatever smuggler’s port his father had taken to hide him at, was a very different upbringing for a child becoming an adolescent. He learned a lot, learned about the peoples of the galaxy. He had chosen Csillia for a world, well, the Imperial Remnant had, where his first born was born, and then his second was starside. But now, after the Alliance, and within the Concord, he had set up his shop here at Kattada, a world that was a garden, in almost all extends of the word. Ancient, verdant, gentle. There were threats, yes, but he wasn’t brining the boat to them.

His new student, Phalsi, as well as some other Jedi, he’d learn their names. He made it a point to, as Grandmaster and as, what he’d always refer to himself, Warden of the Jedi. He wasn’t a sword, not any more, he was supposed to protect and guide the Jedi. Looking to Phalsi, he nodded.

“Well, when the Concord grabbed Kattada, there were immigrated species, but we’ve seen more mundane species, though there is one crustacean species that seems to be of note.” He shook his head. “I’ve been leaving that up to the Witches to decipher, they have a knack for it.” There were Witches from Dathomir on the world, and that made things even more interesting, but they were lead by a Jedi-Witch that Coren trusted to d the right thing.

“As for swimming.” He looked around the island, stepping from the lapping waves into the sand, feeling it get drier and warmer as it clung to his wet feet. “Most of the islands are safe, especially the ones around the Temple.” They’d been checked by the ExplorCorps, and tagged for being fairly devoid of predatory species. He didn’t need to go into all the detail. On top of that, there were all manner of skimmers and sailers out there for use by the Padawans.

“But…” He took a second to remember the name. Aveline? “Aveline, that is what we’re here to find out. The temples, as far as we can tell are not Jedi in origin. They seem to predate any Jedi coming to the world.” Looking around to the tropical area before them, and temple in the back. “Most of the Jedi ExplorCorps are off on other missions, and I figured, these temples are near enough to safe ground that it’d be a good exercise. If you all are game for some temple diving?” He grinned knowing there would at least be a few surprises.

He paid attention to the two men who were remaining, as of yet, silent.

Aveline Cuiléin Phalsi Drynchen Takui Jorah zos Darnus

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

Aveline Cuiléin Takui Jorah zos Darnus Coren Starchaser

Coren mentioned something about crustaceans, which made her look at him a little more intensely. If only because of a slight growl in her stomach that made itself known. "Crustaceans? What makes them-are they tasty?" She cut through her own sentence, brain solidly on food now as she wondered about crab legs in butter. Or maybe steamed-

"Most of the islands? Some big scary monster lurking in the waters?" She laughed, mimicking a very awkward looking Firaxan shark towards Aveline Cuiléin . She paused about midway through making her arms act like giant jaws when he spoke of finding the purpose of the temples. Or maybe clues to who made them.

"Before any-!?" The arms dropped to her side as she turned to Coren in astonishment. "How old are these temples?"

 

[Aveline Cuiléin]

The company was good, with many familiar faces from Kashyyyk. What more could one ask for on the beaches of Kattada? Perhaps she'd get the chance to enjoy them too, if not for the... Crustaceans

Yikes. Aveline listened keenly to Coren, interrupted by temporary distractions as her mind drifted to create images and various scenarios of a people extinct, or creatures unseen... Before she pulled herself back to the conversation. In other circumstances the temptation to slowly slide away and go for a swim might've been too great, but one did not simply walk away from the grandmaster. He had a way with words too. Her mind drifted minimally.

Barely a second after Phalsi had said 'Crustaceans?' Aveline had gone "Witches?" There were many mysteries on this planet. She might have to remain and conduct some research. A great master had once said that wise thoughts came to those on warm sands... Nope, she had just made that up. Okay fair enough, focus maybe.

Most of the islands are safe. She wondered what made the other ones not so safe. "That's exciting" That's exciting? Wow, really adding to the conversation there Aveline. But she had felt the need to say something, especially after he had addressed her by name.

A mildly wicked smirk grew upon her features. A temple dive you say? She turned to look over her shoulder, in the general direction of Takui and Jorah. "You're not scared, are you boys?"

Coren Starchaser | Phalsi Drynchen | Takui | Jorah zos Darnus​

 

[Takui]

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Taku shook off the drab fog that loomed over him and managed to smile toward the younger boy. He still struggled to remember that the others could sense him, and the turmoil inside of him. Though he was uncertain about how to hide his feelings from people who could see into his heart, Taku was excellent at putting on a brave face.

He had been doing so since before he got to Kashyyyk. "I'm just a little shaken up. I'll be okay," he answered honestly. There wasn't much more he could say than that. After the situation they had shared on Deneba, the younger of two two was infinitely more composed. Jorah was already coping with death far better than Taku, and at such a young age.

But then, it wasn't really the singular death that bothered him. When he watched his mother die, he hadn't felt her slip away. He watched the light leave her eyes, and while it was an intimate and soul rending experience, it wasn't...

What was it that he felt, exactly?

It was more profound than simple sadness. It was more awful than losing a loved one. There was anguish in it that went beyond emotion. It was so easy to find himself drowning in that sensation, especially when he let himself think about it.

Why could he not let go of it?

The others seemed to be excited about the trip, and Taku had to admit that it was the last thing on his mind. He agreed to get that chance to take his mind off things, and to spend some time around the Grandmaster. He thought maybe that Coren could give him some insight.

Then, Aveline asked. You're not scared, are you boys?

Yeah, I'm scared. I'm terrified. But not of any witches, or anything on this planet.

Taku lifted his gaze to Aveline and smiled brightly, his eyes closed. "Nope," he answered, "not me!"

He turned to Jorah and reached out a hand for the younger man to shake. "Thanks," he said. "I really needed to get out of my own head."

Aveline Cuiléin | Phalsi Drynchen | Jorah zos Darnus | Coren Starchaser​

 

[Jorah zos Darnus]

Takui seemed hesitant.

The young Dathomirian might have pried, but then Coren Starchaser spoke up and the tween fell silent, shifting his attention over toward the man. At the mention of the crustrations, the female he was not acquainted with seemed to leap onto the subject of food. Meanwhile, Aveline Cuiléin seemed excited about the part that involved witches.

And then she asked if they were afraid?

"Um, I am a witch," Jorah remarked. Though, he was curious. When Master Starchaser said 'witch', did he mean in the generic sense? Or were these other Witches of Dathomir. Was there another coven or clan of his kin residing in Concord space?

Taku also chimed in that he was not afraid. And then also stretched out a hand toward the younger boy. "Yat dyfor," the boy remarked, giving a bow of his head as he accepted the offered hand.

Then the boy thought more about what Master Starchaser had said.

The prospect of exercise did not bother him. To the contrary, he rather looked forward to more. Deneba had been a difficult thing for everyone to process. Jorah could look to his faith for reassurance and, in that, death was not the same for him as it might have been for the Jai. The Jai did not commune with spirits. They did not speak of ghosts. They seemed unfamiliar with the waters of life. All of these were things that Jorah had grown up with.

Death was not the end, merely the end of the beginning. And the beginning of something else.

The violence of Deneba had weighed on him more than the death that they had witnessed. Nightbrothers and Nightsisters trained for such violence. They were the warriors of the Clan, and so Jorah had defaulted to that training as a means to cope with not knowing what else to do.

The experience of being on the ship and sailing kept him active. And that meant not having to think about what had happened. However, something about Starchaser's phrasing had the boy slightly confused on just what this outing was going to require.

"Temple... diving?"

Phalsi Drynchen​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Before he really even had a chance to consider anything else, Phalsi spoke up about the crustaceans. His eyes went a little wide with the shock of her statement, but how was she to know that the crab people were in fact, people. Or at least more sentient than a Loth wolf. He waved a hand. “They are primitive but not all too different from Killiks?” That was enough of that, if they saw some, they’d see first hand. If not, well Phalsi found the first reading assignment.

“And yes, we have some Wtiches, from the coastal clans of Dathomir who call Kattada home. We have a working agreement with most of them to not interfere with the Jedi, and that the Jedi won’t interfere with them. A few are even learning from one another.” The Corellian said this, with a bit of pride as he looked between the two women. “The planet has a number of larger beasties, but they tend to keep to the deeper waters. We’ve got a few safety protocols closer to Temple Island but not out here.”

Out here was Crab People land.

“I remember seeing that on your records Jorah, is it?” he thought it was. “The biggest clan is the Blue Coral Divers. Apparently their corals are found here as well.” Of course, this was Legends Dathomir, not the Red one of New Canon, or it could be both, who was to say? As the two young men started paying attention, Coren nodded.

He took them a bit closer to the Temples. After doing a walk around of the temples, they were able to see the lichen and moss growing between the erosion from the salt water. The writer had a few different powerpoints about what they were seeing, but Coren Starchaser summed it up. “As you can see the temples seem to have sunk. A few droids have scanned that the entrance is below, but something keeps preventing them. I think its in the Force.”

He placed his hands on the temple for a second, signalling for the others to do so. “You can feel there is a lot of energy inside. So we are going to have to be aware, and ready.” Smirking, he grabbed one of his rebreathers and stepped to the water. “Who’s ready?”

Phalsi Drynchen Aveline Cuiléin Takui Jorah zos Darnus

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

Her expression dropped at the realization that they were talking about crab people. Then it shifted to a more irritable expression as she patted her empty stomach. "I don't eat things we are trying to make peace with. Never mind being able to speak with them. I thought-" She waved her hand dismissively. "Never mind what I thought."

"I shouldn't go on trips with an empty stomach..." She grumbled, listening to him speak as Aveleine and the boys spoke behind her. Takui seemed hesitant with his answers, a sharp and attentive stare from Phalsi watching him as he spoke before her eyes drifted back to Coren while he guided the group through the place while she paused to put her shoes back on before touching the temple and feeling the presence of the place.

Her eyes wandered over the structure, before looking to Coren and snatching up a rebreather for herself and put it on. She didn't wait for any of them as she plunged into the water, not savoring the feeling of her robes becoming heavy and wet. She paused halfway down, surfacing and moving to a place where the water came up to her thighs.

She threw off the outer robe, pondered the second robe while pulling at it for a moment before deciding to suffer the weight as she threw herself backwards and dove once more.

Coren Starchaser Aveline Cuiléin Takui Jorah zos Darnus

 

[Aveline Cuiléin]

"Um, I am a witch," Jorah zos Darnus' reaction made her instantly blush. Oh kark. Of course he was. She bit her teeth, hoping she hadn't said anything offensive. Her expression changed from teasing to apologetic, and she mouthed 'Sorry'.

Aveline listened to Coren Starchaser , as you do. The more she learned of Kattada the more fascinated she became. She almost wanted to apply to transfer here, or at least stay a while and explore. Leaving Kashyyyk and all her friends... No, perhaps not transfer. But definitely stay a while. There were so many questions, so many secrets, so much to explore! She wanted to see it all.

“As you can see the temples seem to have sunk. A few droids have scanned that the entrance is below, but something keeps preventing them. I think its in the Force.” Exciting! Aveline barely managed to compose herself. Her eyes were practically about to bounce out from her head. She too placed a hand on the temple, closing her eyes and allowing all of the sensations to wash over her... There was definitely something going on. An unsolved mystery.

Aveline pulled out a rebreather as well. She observed Phalsi Drynchen , and the round she went with herself of 'should I, shouldn't I'. Aveline was glad, it saved her the trouble of going through the same thing, which she no doubt would've a moment later. Watching Phalsi throwing off the outer robe, but leaving the rest, Aveline did the same thing. Time for a swim! Aveline too ducked underneath and vanished under the surface of water.

Coren Starchaser | Phalsi Drynchen | Takui | Jorah zos Darnus​

 

[Takui]

Taku had read about ruins and explored the pages of many books about xenoarchaeology, but he had never seen anything ancient outside of a museum. They had been explored, but certainly from the way the Grandmaster spoke, there was much that had yet to be discovered. Forgotten History awaited them in the depths. That was an exciting prospect.

What did not thrill the young man was that there could be any kind of danger. Though they were Jedi and it was one of the drawbacks of the occupation, they had only just recently brushed closely with death. They weren't even Knights yet. The possibility gave Taku pause.

They needed to be "aware," the Jedi had said. Before, he would have assumed that meant to keep on the lookout for danger, and to keep his head on the swivel. Now he knew better. Taku's mind and spirit had pulled back on Deneba, and he had all but shut down. Spiritually, he was deader than a corpse.

The girls went ahead of him, fitting their rebreathers and shedding their outer robes. Taku took that opportunity to speak. "Master Starchaser," he asked in a quiet voice once Aveline and Phalsi could no longer hear. "What does it mean to be a Jedi?"

He asked a similar question, once. He asked about what the Jedi were, and Auteme had given him a fairly broad answer. Her words guided him to Kashyyyk, to Deneba, and now to Kattada. That could not have been a mistake. By now, he fully understood that the Force was working even if he could not comprehend it.

He just wasn't sure he was right for the job.

Taku, engaged in conversation:
Coren Starchaser | Jorah zos Darnus

Ahead, in the water:
Phalsi Drynchen | Aveline Cuiléin​

 

[Jorah zos Darnus]

There were Witches? Here!?

The boy brightened up immediately. He might well have seemed ready to burst into orbit. The trip to Kattada had now taken on an entirely new significance. He would have to send word back to Alaris Prime to inform the Shaol'maka.

There were other Witches living among the Silver Jedi. And not just a single Clan either! It was an incredible find. Jorah's people had been largely cut off since they had fled the Clone Wars era massacre and settled on Talay. The prospect of connecting with more of their kind was a miracle, to say the least.

But first, they were temple diving. Jorah looked down at himself, but he was already half naked and wearing just a sarong. Well, that and the Nightsister dagger tied around his waist. Reaching down, he folded and rolled the sarong slightly, to secure it better before he jumped into the water.

If this was Talay, he'd have just pitched it and gone in wearing his loincloth. But, he got the sense that the Jai weren't like that. So he'd play it safe rather than rushing to embarrass himself. More than usual, anyway.

Picking up one of the rebreathers, the boy flipped it over in his hands as he studied the curious device. One put it in their mouths and just... swam with a mouth guard basically? Was that it.

He was going to turn and ask, but that was when he heard Taku ask "What does it mean to be a Jedi?"

That seemed a rather spiritual matter. And one that Jorah didn't need to play third wheel to. So, instead, he popped the rebreather in his mouth and charged after where the two girls had disappeared. Plunging into the water, the red-skinned youth swam toward Aveline, to see if he could catch up with her.

Aveline Cuiléin Phalsi Drynchen Takui Coren Starchaser​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The fact that he had a few students, actually more than he suspected. He figured Phalsi and maybe a friend of hers may show up. These four were an interesting bunch. And the Master was glad to have them. Allowing the women time to prepare for their venture into the water, he turned to the two men. When the one, Takui, had approached, he was asking a very specific question. The Jedi Master grinned. “This is a question you’ve asked a few, haven’t ya?” Coren tried to sound more playful and open than anything threatening.

“That’s why we have Masters, isn’t it? Being a Jedi isn’t just one thing. We try to behave to the Code, but being a Jedi is that reflection of you and how you best to see you serving the Code. Are you a teacher, a researcher? A protector? An explorer? Are you a blend of many but not just one?” He took a second. “Its why you learn from several Masters until you find one that sees something in you, similar to what you see in them, y’know?” That was a terrible way to really put it.

His first student was a warrior, Phalsi, he was still getting the handle on. But one thing, she was ready and raring to go for this trip. That was important.

“Does that make sense?” He said as he gathered his gear into a pile. “Its not something you can chase overnight. Something to meditate on.” Taking the time to make sure he connected with the student, he was keeping an eye on the others as well.

He could feel… others in the Force. There were others in the Temple. He grabbed his rebreather. “We can talk more about this but the girls seem eager. Under his robes, he had one of the environmental body gloves that kept the ExplorCorps ready for most worlds. He grabbed a spare rebreather and tossed it to Takui, as he waved his hand, and a small orb of harmless light dove into the water, taking a path towards the temple, where the droids had once gone.

And he descended after it.

Takui Phalsi Drynchen Aveline Cuiléin Jorah zos Darnus

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

Aveline Cuiléin Takui Jorah zos Darnus Coren Starchaser

Phalsi, for all the bravado she had shown jumping into the water, remained at the top of the water after a few seconds of diving. Even when the other joined her, the almost frantic searching with her eyes of the waters around her was unmistakable.

She swam back and forth waiting to see what the others did, hands either fufilling the swimming motions required to move or checking the rebreather on her face.

A growing tension could be felt in her by anyone paying attention as time went on. Something she had yet learned to hide. If Aveline Cuiléin swam ahead, Phalsi would be nearly beside her trying to stay close.

 

[Aveline Cuiléin]

Coren Starchaser Phalsi Drynchen Jorah zos Darnus Takui
Phalsi wasn't hard to catch up to, and Aveine was glad. She didn't know much about her, nor understand her mind just yet, but perhaps there was a future friend to be found in her.

Looking back she could see Jorah zos Darnus swimming to catch up, and she did a few twirls in the water as she waited for him. He looked way more comfortable than she was right now, and she kind of regretted her decision to not dress down a little. But she didn't want to be seen second guessing her every move.

Once he linked up, she started again. She had no real idea where she was going. Down, probably? Takui and Coren lingered behind, but there was probably good cause for it. She did not sense any danger. Likely that lay ahead of them, if at all... Pretending to know where she was going she swam downwards, hoping that some kind of pathway or entrance would reveal itself to her.

She thought she saw something, but... She tilted to Phalsi, then Jorah, and pointed forwards. Did they see it? Was it where they were supposed to go?

 

[Takui]

As the others disappeared, Grandmaster Starchaser gave Taku answers that birthed new questions. The Padawan had expected nothing less, but the empty feeling that settled in his stomach lingered. What am I? he questioned himself in silence as Coren tossed him a rebreather and submerged.

Taku took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He remembered the few words of the Jedi Code he knew, and as he stepped into the water, he whispered.

"There is no emotion."

It sounded strange, foreign.

"There is peace," he finished the line as he waded deeper, his knees underwater now. Though he did not comprehend the deeper meaning, nor did he truly understand the words at face value, there was an eerie calm behind them.

Taku placed the rebreather between his lips as he let those words play back and forth in his mind. So long as he focused on them, maybe everything else would seem less daunting. Fully underwater now, he dove deeper.

The light Coren had tossed forward illuminated the others ahead of him, swimming through the upper waters and down into where the light could not reach. As the chill crept through his skin, the Padawan adjusted his breathing. It became harder to control as the pressure constricted him and the cold made him want to take deeper, warmer breaths. He wasn't used to this.


Coren Starchaser | Jorah zos Darnus | Phalsi Drynchen | Aveline Cuiléin

 

[Jorah zos Darnus]

The young Nightbrother caught up with Aveline, and could see the other woman further ahead.

Coren and Taku had joined them in the water, with the Jedi Master plunging deep underneath the water's surface. A chill went through the youth's body, as the light began to fade and the water began to sap the warmth from his body. With the rebreather in his mouth, never mind that he was under several meters worth of water, he couldn't exactly utter a spell down here.

And the Jedi were just, continuing on.

How did they do that without casting spells? This Force clearly worked in mysterious ways.

Had he the foresight, he would have brought or created a fire totem that he could have carried with him. Would that have even worked? Mistwalkers were marsh dwellers and fishermen, but they weren't usually divers. So this was an area of magick that Jorah was wholly unfamiliar with. Perhaps a water totem would have been what he should have carried?

Jorah was ordinarily an air aspect. It was why his animal form was a bat. Which certainly didn't help him at all here. Ask him about air currents, not rip currents.

Hey there.

Glancing up, the Nightbrother was startled to discover a rather vibrant blue fish drifting alongside him. It was ethereal, a faintly glinting shadow, yet it was unmistakably a spirit.

...or the hypothermia had set in and Jorah was imagining this.

Either way, he didn't imagine that the Jedi could see the shimmering blue tang as it swam with him. They seemed strangely unaware of such creatures, particularly for as powerful as the Jedi otherwise seemed to be.

Are you lost? You're a long way from air for an air-breathing-whatever you are.

Without the ability to speak, the boy just tried to motion as best he could to indicate the group swimming below him.

Oh, you're not sure how to catch up with your friends? Well, just keep swimming!

The Dathomirian couldn't exactly turn blue. He was the wrong pigmentation. But he'd definitely taken on a pink-violet hue, shivering as he continued to swim on. The spirit seemed to dart and flow around him as he followed.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

On second thought, perhaps the Jedi were blessed to be oblivious to such things as the wisdom of the spirits...

Coren Starchaser Phalsi Drynchen Aveline Cuiléin Takui​